|
HOME :
Chinese Art :
Tang Dynasty : Tang period tri-coloured terracotta camel figurine, preparing to assume the kneeling position
|
 |
|
|
|
Tang period tri-coloured terracotta camel figurine, preparing to assume the kneeling position - MS.1952
Origin: China
Circa: 618
AD
to 906
AD
Dimensions:
15" (38.1cm) high
x 17" (43.2cm) depth
Collection: Chinese Art
Style: Tang Dynasty
Medium: Painted terracotta
Additional Information: C
Location: Great Britain
|
|
|
| Description |
Terracotta tomb figure of a camel kneeling on its
anterior legs. The realistically represented animal
stretches its long neck forward, on its back and
between the two humps are visible bags loaded
with merchandise.
The Silk Road refers to a 5,000-mile
interconnecting network of trade routes that
linked Eastern Mediterranean to Central and East
Asia. At it's zenith the Silk Route was the longest
road in the world. Merchants traveling in caravans
across the route’s wide expanse carried prized
commodities like silk, tea, and jade from China,
often exchanging them with other traders for
gunpowder, paper, and glassware from the West.
The main form of transportation in the caravans
was camels. Camels were a key part of the
success of these trade passages for despite their
time-consuming training and high cost, they
could carry more weight, walk on terrains more
efficiently and needed less water than any other
animal.
This terracotta figure would have formed part of a
retinue of funerary objects in support of a larger
burial program, the goal of which was to comfort
and satisfy the deceased, who in this case must
have been a person of financial prominence given
the expense of commissioning such an object –
perhaps, an aristocrat, high-ranking officer or
wealthy merchant. The variety of goods on its
packsaddle boards between the characteristic
twin humps of this Bactrian camel symbolizes
prosperity and would have commanded great
respect in the Underworld.
- (MS.1952)
|
| |
|
